Accused operated from a small house

Hubli, Aug 30, 2012,DHNS

A small house at Sonia Gandhi Nagar in Bidnal on the outskirts of Hubli was a den of extremists, neighbours claimed.

After arresting five suspects on Wednesday, police raided the Sonia Gandhi Nagar house and took into custody two more youths, both natives of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly having links with the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The two suspects had come to Hubli recently. They were allegedly given instructions by journalist Muthi-Ur Rahman Siddiqui to spread jihad in the region, the neighbours said. Siddiqui, it is said, was the secretary of the Students’ Islamic Organisation four years ago. Subsequently, he shifted to Bangalore where he allegedly came in contact with the banned Bangladesh-based HUJI and recruited operatives for the terrorist outfit.

Sources said Siddiqui allegedly met other terror suspects in the City regularly and conspired to kill political leaders. They were in Bangalore on August 5 and had used a certain Imran’s computer to send hate SMSes and posted inciting video clippings online to spread rumours that North-Eastern people would be attacked.